


Palettes

by biffu



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Cindy Centric, Color Blindness, F/F, Family Dynamics, Gen, Lesbian Relationship, Mentions of Character Death, Mentions of other characters - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-15
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-10-19 03:02:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10630794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/biffu/pseuds/biffu
Summary: Cindy becomes colorblind after her parents' death, but after a time of healing and love, she regains her colors all over again.





	

Cindy was in love with silver. For a while, silver and black were the only colors she could see in after her parents’ deaths. Daemons were almost always black with speckles of silver where they were the most vulnerable in areas she could never reach. Since she couldn’t touch those parts, instead Cindy retreated into the safety of her Paw Paw’s garage where the scent of metal hung heavy, and amused herself with silver sparks that lit up the darkness while working.

Cid didn’t think much of it. He understood children needed something to hold onto to chase away the horrors of night, and spent it by her side, teaching her the ways of a master machinist. She was bright and cheerful when the sparks illuminated, but shook once they were swallowed by the thickness of night; the garage never lit up with stars and it was only when Cindy was a teenager did she appreciate the silver flakes decorating the outside.

Nightmares of being devoured haunted the poor girl every night, and she shook and cried something fierce. She tried not to be loud as to not wake her Paw Paw, but he sat at her bedside at a particular hour, turning on a nightlight of a model car from Lucis he designed especially for her. Sometimes he told her stories of adventures, but most nights he read from manuals, chuckling when she began to recite them in time with his reading or miming the process like the star of her own auto show.

It took a lot for Cindy to see in other colors, and it was a gradual shift of time. It was why she didn’t paint a lot of the cars that came through Hammerhead, but at least she was good at popping the hood and fixing trouble. She liked to lie beneath the cars, map out the parts with her fingers when she was comfortable with the darkness of the garage, no longer needing the sparks to light up her peace. She memorized every detail and crevice, and if a part was missing, she would grope her way through comfortable silence and void for what she needed. Silver helped, black was endless, but then yellow filtered through followed by oranges and reds. Green bled through the yellows when she stared at the ground, amazed at how different it was from sandy browns and beiges.

She couldn’t really make a feel for blues and purples until she took in the night sky when she felt comfortable enough to be out of shadows. She tiptoed out of the garage on her own, amazed that the silver stars didn’t fall down like ash around her but stayed above and changing the black sky into purples and blues. There were also light reds, far in the distance that seemed too bright just then, so Cindy only looked at what was right above her head.

The first night she did, daemons prowled far down from Hammerhead, the vulnerabilities brighter somehow as if they caught sparks. She reached to her side, Paw Paw’s pistol on her hip. The chain fence in front of her was locked, and the restaurant next door was all dark and tempered glass. The only sounds around her were bugs and the fabric of her clothes rustling as she moved slowly. The daemons were too far for her to hear, but she could see them fluidly shifting out of the dark ground, looking at everything and nothing.  
She never used the pistol unless they came too close, and by that time Cid noticed that the time for her to be awake had past and not a peep was heard from her room. He would check out the window and see her aiming upwards, ready for a warning shot and run down to help her.

Cindy was never serious in the day but was doubly so in the night. If she was by herself or with Paw Paw, she could leave the silver, the golds, the greens, and the reds behind and trouble herself in the blues and blacks and purples instead. She didn’t like to stay out much in the beginning, but forced herself to get used to it. Believing that if she kept on, she would be able to make an armor out of it, and she did.

Eventually, Cid never had to check up on her even if the nightmares made her lose sleep. Instead, she found one more silver for comfort, and it was purely coincidental.   
When Lucis’ troubles spiked and the prince and his entourage fled, the silvers in the sky shifted, almost moving on their own to accommodate the black metals in the Empire. Hot steel and sulfur wafted through Hammerhead, almost making Cid & Cindy believe that something caught fire, and so they ran only to see exhaust with no actual harm done. Black metal descended in the back of the garage, and easily the family moved in tandem to their sides for their weaponry. Night gave the airship a cloak, but the smell and the sound couldn’t be hidden.

The creak and swish of the airship doors opening to reveal guards clad in white made Hammerhead’s owners pull out their guns even though the safety was left on. Splotches of red gave them pause, and a streak of silver made Cindy blink. It wasn’t a vulnerability, but a halo instead. Hands were drawn up as a woman descended and walked right in front of them. Her bright red lance strapped to her back before she laughed and held up a paper signed by a certain prince.

Cindy put her weapon away first, and Cid realized that there was a cure for her nightmares after all.

Aranea and her crew stayed for what seemed like too little of a time. The men had their own bunks in the ship, but their general slept in the comfort of the garage. Somehow, she crept into the bed belonging to Cindy, joining her for walks outside in the night where the silver was brightest, or pressing against her during restless dreams or horrific nightmares. Aranea had a way of comforting without being overbearing.

Kisses didn’t taste like silver, but they were just as warm as silver to Cindy. They weren’t always secret, but sometimes were; only meant for the two of them with or without crying out. Touches were like other colors: sometimes a little much and others just not enough. Aranea distinguished which helped and which ones hurt, confused by the talk of colors at first before she grew to understand them all.

Cid wasn’t surprised when Cindy followed Aranea out to fight, her expertise in several things surpassing his own. He didn’t need to leave Hammerhead if she had her silver above her, beside her, and on her. He was surprised however when there were less and less daemons until there were no more. His sunshine returned brighter than ever, fingers locked with Aranea’s before she let go to run to him.

It was the last thing he remembered before he let her go, and gave her the garage for safekeeping. He passed, Cindy stayed, and occasionally, Aranea left but always came back. Colors didn’t bother Cindy anymore but took on even more meanings in the years after Cid’s death. Aranea and her crews with Talcott and Iris swinging by gave her bits of joy. There were a lot of customers that kept her busy, but she took many breaks, most of which were spent with her silver beside her with warm kisses and oddly enough, sweet promises kept. She may have lost her colors once, but she was able to gain them back. And that gave Cindy solace for many years to come and go.

**Author's Note:**

> After not writing for a while, a headcanon popped up in my mind: what if Cindy became colorblind and the only color she didn't associate with pain was silver? Considering that Hammerhead is a mechanic shop, I figured she would feel safe and secure. Also, meeting Aranea and getting to know her little by little as she tends to the airship, they become closer and eventually lovers. And, maybe when things are fixed and its time to go, Aranea no longer works for the Empire but fights daemons and brings her girl with her. 
> 
> Its cute and sweet, and yes they end up two old biddies sitting in front of Hammerhead Garage when they're like 70 or 80 with kids they adopted running things and holding hands while looking at the sun, moon, and stars. But not without a lot of kisses and hugs too.


End file.
